The kids finally made it to White Gloves and Party Manners this weekend. The first week, we couldn’t go because of Trillian’s Trash Art Contest thingie. The second week was a snowy Saturday, so it was cancelled. So here we are, three weeks in, and the kids finally get to go to class.
In fact, they went to a “double” class, to make up for the first week. Lintilla and I dropped them off and went shopping for two whole hours in Green Hills Mall (I’m old enough to say that I’ll NEVER call it “The Mall at Green Hills”). As an aside, all of us have malls that fit our personalities; Green Hills is not it for me. I feel so out of place there, and I can’t afford ANYTHING there. If you’re curious, Opry Mills is the mall that best fits my personality: big, loud, nothing “posh”. But I digress.
I know very little about what the ladies did to my children during those two hours. I know that Zaphod was the only boy in the second hour, and that they gave the kids homework. As you know, that’s a sore spot with us. But this seems to be pretty reasonable: they have to write a thank-you note. To my son, you might as well be asking him to kiss his sister. I have no idea why writing a thank-you note is such torture to him, but it’s a battle we’ll fight till he’s done.
It’s my understanding they worked on phone etiquitte as well. Good! Now, maybe my daughter will learn to say “goodbye” before she hangs up.
Something they learned that I didn’t know: a man should not extend his hand to shake a woman’s hand until she does. Here I am, 42 years old, and I’ve been shaking wrong all these years.
Hopefully, as they learn more, they’ll pass the knowledge along to me. Lord knows, I need it.
February 26, 2007 at 4:19 pm
“a man should not extend his hand to shake a woman’s hand until she does”
This is a carryover from the old idea that when making introductions, one introduces a gentleman to a lady (whereupon she decides whether or not to admit the gentleman among her acquaintance) and only then introduces the lady to the gentleman. One also introduces a commoner to a noble first, rather than the other way ’round. It suggests that the lady (or the noble) gets to reject being acquainted with someone not up to snuff. Because we broads are so f**kin’ dainty, you know.
February 27, 2007 at 12:01 pm
“To my son, you might as well be asking him to kiss his sister.” I am impressed-at times my son has probably considered this…lol